


The birth

by Vinushuka



Series: One year with Apocalyptica [35]
Category: Apocalyptica
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 16:54:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14024580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinushuka/pseuds/Vinushuka
Summary: Anna and Yusuke start to make wedding plans rigt after their party with Perttu, Johanna and Franky. During their discussion Anna gets to know that Yusuke's youngest daughter Miyu is not officially dead but missing.Before entering into the hospital Anna gets a surprice visitor, Mikko's companion Mikael. As Mikael is now officially a priest Anna asks him to marry her and Yusuke next spring. When Mikael touches Anna by chance, she notices something that makes her doubt that Mikael visiting her is not what he seems to be but a certain unruly angel...Lumi's birth, although expected, finally comes as a surprice to everybody. She's born by cesarean section four weeks ahead of time. Yusuke is there to support Anna through the surgery and after it. To Anna Lumi's birth is a miracle but Anna's vision and dream suggest that there might be another miracle waiting to happen.





	1. Wedding plans and mysteries

## Wedding plans and mysteries (1)

“Hmm, that was quite a night”, I mumbled when Yusuke’s lips caressed gently my nape. He was lying behind my back in my waterbed his hands folded around my body. Our guests were long gone and we had cleared the kitchen and the living room together after the party. The evening had been successful in many respects and we both were satisfied but tired.

“How long did you carry this ring in your pocket?” I asked admiring the beautiful thing in my finger.

“Not very long. I just thought it would be good to be prepared for the right moment. I was sure that I wanted to have you as my wife.”  

“You really managed to surprise me…I never dreamt that you would want to marry a woman so pregnant”, I snickered and stroke the side of my huge belly. Lumi was kicking me again and I could feel her heel pushing against my palm.

“I love both of you! Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?”

“Lumi is not born yet so things might happen to her or to me”, I reminded Yusuke about the realities.

“I know that, but you are worth taking a risk. Besides I’m sure everything will turn out fine”, Yusuke replied stroking my heavy breasts. His touch made me want him again.

“I hope you’re right… Jeez man, you’re making me horny”, I complained and pushed my behind against his firm body.

“Hmm, that’s not a problem. I’m horny too”, Yusuke confessed while his thing searched its way inside me.

“Ah…Your dick is perfect. I will never get tired of it”, I breathed when he sunk his weapon deep inside me. Our fit was impeccable. He was like a missing part of my body.

“I’m glad you like it”, Yusuke whispered, but didn’t say anything more. I could hear his heavy breathing and feel his slow but determined movement inside me. I didn’t say anything either. I just wanted to enjoy our gradual climb towards another mind blowing orgasm. I trusted Yusuke would take me over to the dark side together with him.

       When Yusuke had finally reached the top and exploded inside me I thought I felt something wet dripping on my shoulder. After a while I realized that Yusuke was crying against my back.

“What is it?” I asked feeling confused.

“I’m sorry… I’m just so happy and grateful for having you in my life.”

I reached out my hand and caressed his hair. “Don’t be sorry. You deserve happiness and I’m glad I can offer you that.”

      I turned to face Yusuke and wiped his wet face with my fingers. ”Do you want to join me in child birth?”

“Is it possible, even if I’m not the father?” Yusuke wondered.

“Yes, I can take with me anyone I want. I’m not planning to bother Perttu with Lumi’s birth.”

“In that case I would be glad to join you, although I don’t have any experience of childbirths. It’s not common in Japan for fathers to participate.”

“I don’t have any experience either so that makes two of us. I just hope the midwives know what they are doing”, I grinned but in reality I was horrified.

      After a short silence Yusuke stroke my cheek and took a deep breath before talking: “When would you like to have the wedding?”

“Well…it would be nice to have the wedding sometime in early summer when the nature is at its best. Next June is already too close so what about next May or June, before you finish your work here? Lumi will be then old enough to participate and hopefully can stand on her own two feet.”

“Sounds fine to me. We could travel to Japan right after the wedding and have our Japanese ceremony there.”

“That’s going to be interesting…Do brides were kimono or a wedding dress?” I asked slightly embarrassed about my ignorance.

“In a traditional Shinto wedding you would wear a white wedding kimono called _shiromuku_ and I would have a black kimono called _montsuki_ , a _haori_ -coat and a _hakama_ ”, Yusuke explained.

“Jeez, I would really like to see us dressed traditionally. I guess, during the wedding reception we could were our Finnish wedding dresses.”

“Yes, it’s usual to change the outfit even couple of times during the reception.”

      Suddenly I started to giggle because in my mind’s eye I saw a one year old toddler trying to stay upright in her tiny kimono. She fell on her butt but didn’t cry. She pouted her lips and stubbornly struggled back on her feet again.

“Did I say something funny?” Yusuke asked sounding a bit reserved.

“No, you didn’t. I just imagined a toddler tripping in her kimono…I definitely want us to dress traditionally in our wedding. Lumi will be lovely.”

“I know…she will be lovely in whatever she wears”, Yusuke mumbled stroking my cheek gently. His dark eyes were gleaming with something deep and unexplainable.

“You can’t know that”, I insisted bothered by Yusuke’s intensity.

“Yes, I can. Both her mother and father are beautiful. How could she be anything else?”

     Before replying it occurred to me that Yusuke’s younger daughter must have been about one year old at the time of her death. My remarks must have brought horrible memories into his mind.

“Did your girls ever wear kimonos?” I asked trying to sound casual.

“Yes they did. Especially my older daughter Etsuko loved to dress up”, Yusuke replied trying to smile but the tears betrayed him.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked”, I mumbled my eyes tearing up too. I just couldn’t stand the thought of a one year old drowning in the depths of a tsunami. No way…

“They never found Miyu’s body. My wife and Etsuko were found in the car they’d been driving when the tsunami hit but Miyu was missing. She still is. No sign of her body anywhere”, Yusuke told me with great effort.

“What if she wasn’t in the car in the first place?” I asked intrigued by this new information. “What if she was at home with someone babysitting her, someone who perhaps saved her from the tsunami?”

“I don’t remember my wife ever mentioning anybody who would have helped her with the children except her young cousin who lived close by. She died in the tsunami too.”

“Has anyone checked if there are children of her age in your community who survived the tsunami? Maybe someone took her after losing their own baby or something like that?” I asked without knowing why.

“Are you suggesting that she’s out there somewhere alive and well and nobody knows about it?”

“I’m not sure. I just have a strong feeling that she’s not dead”, I admitted trusting my intuition. I didn’t want to tell Yusuke about my special talents yet but I definitely wanted to use them to solve this mystery. I just wondered if the child I saw in my vision was actually Miyu three years ago or some random child.

“It took me three years to accept the fact that I had lost my family. I can’t go through that torment once more”, Yusuke concluded our discussion.

“I know and I’m not asking that from you. I love you too much”, I whispered to my coming husband and stroke his cheek. I would find a way to help him.


	2. Another angel?

## Another angel? (2)

My maternity check up on Tuesday, 12th of May turned out to be a catastrophe. The nurse measured my blood pressure several times to confirm that the very high readings she was getting were correct. Unfortunately they were. She took several phone calls to the hospital explaining the situation. After that she told me that they had reserved me a bed at the hospital starting from Thursday morning. I should be prepared to spend some time in there. My blood pressure was getting dangerously high and I needed closer monitoring and rest.

      When I came home I brewed myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the dinner table to consider what to do. I should let Perttu know what was happening but I didn’t want to make it sound too dramatic. I would probably have a chat with him on Wednesday before he would travel to USA. I should also talk with Yusuke about some practical matters concerning the house and the garden while I was at the hospital. For that I should find a spare key somewhere and give it to Yusuke. At some stage I should perhaps propose that Yusuke would move in with me. I had plenty of room in the house and I missed his company almost all the time. If we were going to be a couple, why wouldn’t we start our life together as soon as possible?

       My speculations were cut short by the buzz of my cell phone. Yusuke had obviously grown impatient and decided to call me to hear my news.

“Hi Anna. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Hi dear. I just got home from the check up and I’m sitting here having some coffee. Actually I was just planning to call you…I need your help starting from Thursday.”

“Sure, what can I do for you?” Yusuke asked concern in his voice.

“They are taking me into the hospital on Thursday to monitor my blood pressure and keep me at rest. My pressures are far too high… Would you be kind enough to take care of my house and garden while I’m away?”

“Of course I would! You know how much I love gardening. But I need a key to your house.”

“That’s great! I think I have a spare key somewhere. Can you come and pick it up either today or tomorrow? We can go through the details while you’re here.”

“I have a customer meeting and dinner today so tomorrow would be better.”

“Fine, can you stay for dinner tomorrow? It may be our last meal at home for a while.”

“Of course I can, but I will do the cooking. You should rest”, Yusuke promised. I loved his determination and straightforward approach. I knew he would do anything for me just like I would do for him.

      I was just inserting my coffee mug and some plates into the dishwasher when I thought I saw someone walk by the kitchen window. After a while my doorbell chimed. I didn’t expect any visitors so I assumed it was just another repair man offering some house maintenance services. I was normally a bit reluctant to open the door for strangers but this time I was curious enough to do that.

“Hi Anna. I thought to come by and see how you’re doing. I hope I’m not disturbing”, said the angelic young man behind my doorstep.

“Oh, hi Mikael. So nice to see you again! Please come in”, I fussed feeling a blush spread on my face. I was all too conscious about my huge belly and the charm of the dark eyed young man standing in front of me.

“Your baby must be due very soon”, Mikael said when he was taking of his shoes and overcoat in the hallway.

“Lumi is due in four weeks”, I replied blushing again. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t supposed to feel this way especially when I was going to get married with Yusuke. “Would you like to have a cup of coffee?” I asked trying to hide my confusion.

“It smells like you have some, so a cup of coffee would be nice”, Mikael replied sniffing the air and after that grinned at me. I guessed he had noticed my confusion and wanted me to relax a bit.

“Please, sit down. I will bring the coffee right away”, I said and hurried to the kitchen. “Would you like a sandwich or something?”

“No thanks, just coffee please”, Mikael called from the living room.

      After a while we both sat at the dinner table and Mikael was sipping his coffee. “Your garden looks fantastic already in the spring. I wish I had this kind of beauty surrounding me but alas…” Mikael said politely.

“We will have to thank the previous owner of this house for that. Anyways, you don’t need a garden to have beauty around you. Herbs, strawberries and annual flowers are easy to grow on your balcony”, I lectured about my favorite topic to Mikael.

“Mikko isn’t into growing things as he’s travelling most of the time and somehow I don’t have the energy for things like that when he’s away.”  

“I understand. Living together with an international artist has its downsides”, I said happy that I had other people in my life besides Perttu. I would have been devastated all alone.

       Suddenly Mikael fixed his eyes at my left hand. “You have a very beautiful engagement ring. Is it from Perttu?”

“No, he’s engaged with Johanna. I’m getting married with Yusuke Hayashi. He’s a Japanese engineer working at my company, a widower and about ten years younger than me”, I replied and picked up my cell phone. “Here he is!” I enthused presenting Mikael a photo of Yusuke in his traditional archery outfit.

“Wow, that’s one handsome man! How did you find him?” Mikael huffed gazing at the photo.

“He came to Finland in March together with his colleague Naoki Kobayashi whom Patrik knew from his orientation period in Japan. Patrik acted as their host in Finland so I invited him and these two guys here for a dinner. It was more or less love at first sight… ”, I confessed.

       After that Mikael sat in silence for a while and turned the half empty coffee mug in his hand.  “Have you heard anything from Patrik lately?” he finally asked.

“I met him once after his gallbladder operation but since then he hasn’t been in contact with me. Our Japanese course came to an end in April so I don’t get to see him regularly now. But I think he’s dating Naoki at the moment. They had something cooking the last time I saw him.”

“Oh, I see. It would be nice to meet him some time…”

      Suddenly an idea occurred to me. “Are you now officially a priest?” I asked to change the subject.

“Yes I am, since March”, Mikael replied slightly puzzled.

“In that case, would you like to marry us? It would be nice to have someone familiar as our priest.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. If you marry a foreigner you have to get married in a magistrate. After that the church can give a blessing to the matrimony, which is very similar to a regular wedding ceremony. I would be glad to bless your marriage.”

“Sorry, I haven’t had time to do any research about marrying a foreigner yet. Yusuke proposed to me last Saturday”, I explained slightly embarrassed.

“No problem, but please find out in good time what paperwork is needed for Yusuke.”

“Will do. We are not in a hurry. We were planning to have the wedding next spring when Lumi is a bit older.”

“That’s fine. Just let me know when you want to have the ceremony so that we can plan the details.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I invite Patrik and Naoki to the wedding?”

“Of course I don’t. As I said, I would like to see him.”

       As there must have been a reason for Mikael to come and see me, I thought it would be better to talk some more about him and Mikko. “Do you have any plans with Mikko?” I asked.

“No, we don’t. I have started to have my doubts about our relationship. As I said I find it hard to be alone most of the time. It’s tearing me apart…I would like to have a real family.”

“I’m sorry to hear that but I’m sure you know what is best for you. Trust your feelings”, I said and reached out my hand over the table to touch his arm. When Mikael noticed my gesture he grabbed my hand into his. His touch almost made me flinch. It reminded me so much of Sebastian’s touch. The warm, overwhelming energy flowing into my body through his hands stunned me. “Are you an angel?” I stammered.

“As much as I would like to be a part of the heavenly choir, I’m just an ordinary priest with problems in his love life”, Mikael smiled and released my hand. He clearly knew why I was asking him this question and it made me doubt his words.

“I’m sorry but I will have to leave now. Thanks for the coffee. It was very nice seeing you again”, Mikael said politely and stood up to leave.

I was still confused about his touch so I just stood up and followed him to the hall to give him his coat. “Please come by and say Hello to Lumi sometime in June”, I said gazing at his lovely face framed with black curls. He really was an archetype of a cherub.

“I will. Just let me know when I can come”, Mikael promised and grabbed me into his arms.

       Our hug was just a friendly one but long enough for me to sense the heat of his body. I knew what he was. But was he Sebastian or someone else? I was tempted to think that he was Sebastian who had wanted to see me even if he wasn’t supposed to. My eyes flooded with tears when Mikael had closed the door behind him. The pain of losing Patrik and Sebastian almost crushed me.


	3. The birth

## The birth (3)

I guessed that the days at the hospital would be tedious because I didn’t feel sick in any way. When I entered the maternity ward on Thursday, I had my Japanese textbooks and some novels with me and of course my cell phone containing the necessary study applications and my music library.  It didn’t take long before my days had fallen into a regular pattern of breakfasts, lunches, afternoon coffees and dinners with some lab studies in between. The highlight of the day was the visiting hour in the evening. Yusuke tried to come as often as he could because he knew how bored I was. He brought me more books and magazines to read and amused me with his Japanese quizzes the best he could.

      I had promised that Yusuke could sleep at my house if he felt like it and use the garage for his hobbies. Actually it was Yusuke who requested the latter item from me on Saturday evening after he had spent the day tending to my garden. He had obviously found some interesting tools and gadgets in my garage when he was looking for the gardening tools there. I didn’t take up the matter of living together yet.  Yusuke needed time to get used to the house and to me of course. I believed that the idea would come to him naturally after a while.

      I had regular phone calls with Perttu, who was now on tour in USA. I didn’t want him to worry needlessly about my condition so I kept our discussions light and short. There was no point in boring him with detailed accounts of my blood pressure measurements. I also informed Nina, Lumi’s coming nanny, about my situation. When I told her about my blood pressure readings, she warned me that I might end up giving birth quite soon.

      I had been foresighted enough to inform my neighbors about my hospitalization and that my Japanese fiancé would be taking care of the house and the garden during my absence. On Sunday evening Yusuke told me that the neighbor across the street had come to say hello to him when he was raking the lawn. Unfortunately their discussion wasn’t very fruitful as my neighbor didn’t speak English very well and Yusuke’s Finnish was still elemental. Anyways Yusuke seemed to be happy about having a Finnish acquaintance.

      Nina’s prediction about a premature child birth turned out to be true quicker than I expected. After five days in hospital, on Tuesday 19th a doctor came and told me that they had decided to make a caesarean section to me next morning. I was happy and disappointed at the same time. A surgery would be quick and painless but it had its risks and afterwards I wouldn’t be able to take care of Lumi as much as I would like.

      I called Yusuke right away to give him time to prepare mentally for this important event. He would probably be more scared about it than I. Besides he had to inform his boss about becoming a ‘father’ and participating in childbirth on Wednesday morning. The decision about the caesarean section had come so fast that I didn’t even consider letting Perttu know about it. I would call him after Lumi was born.

      To my surprise I felt very calm during the night before the surgery. The long period of uncertainty was now over and tomorrow, at about nine o’clock I would have a daughter. When I was in bed waiting for the sleep to come and Lumi was stretching her feet inside me, I rubbed my belly and told her that we would meet very soon. Just one night and she would see her mother and stepfather for the first time.

     I had an epidural so I was completely conscious during the operation. The part of my body where the doctors and nurses were working was of course hidden from my and Yusuke’s sight by a screen. I could feel the earthquake in my body when they picked up the baby from my womb but there was no pain. I held Yusuke’s hand and smiled at him hoping that he wouldn’t faint. He looked a bit paler than usual but smiled back at me and squeezed my hand. Our relief was enormous when we finally heard the high pitch scream of our daughter. There was at least nothing wrong with her lungs.

      After a short while a midwife came to us carrying a tight bundle. “Congratulations Mrs. Sarela! You’ve got a ten point baby girl. She’s got all the qualities of a Miss Universe”, she said. “Your husband can take her to the ward while we finish the operation.”

Yusuke seemed to be a bit hesitant to go but the nurses were very determined and guided him out of the surgery room with Lumi in a cot with wheels.

      The next thing I knew was that I woke up in a hospital bed with Yusuke sitting beside me and Lumi sleeping soundly in her cot. Yusuke went and picked her up and laid her in my arms. She was tightly wrapped in a blue cloth, only her face visible. She was the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen; long eyelashes, tiny nose and full lips. How on earth had I managed to produce something so flawless?

“Hello Lumi! Nice to see you finally”, I mumbled feeling still very disoriented. I stroke her cheek carefully with my finger which made her wrinkle her forehead and spout her lips.  She was so tiny!

“How much does she weigh?” I asked Yusuke who probably knew better her strategical measurements.

“She weighs 2.8 kg and is 43 cm tall”, Yusuke replied checking a paper which probably had all the details of her birth.

“Does it say ten points somewhere?” I asked curious about the midwife’s comments.

“Yes it does…here”, Yusuke said and pointed at the form with a tick at maximum ten. “You’ve done a perfect job!”

“By the way I took some pictures of Lumi while you were sleeping. Perttu probably would like to see how his daughter looks like. I think she has Perttu’s nose… ”, Yusuke added and opened his cell phone to show me the photos.

“Wow, these are lovely!” You’re such a kind and considerate man. Perttu will certainly appreciate these”, I said feeling deeply moved. What had I done to deserve this man?

      According to the cell phone clock the time was slightly past noon on 20th of May. An excellent day for Lumi’s birthday but slightly too early to let Perttu know about it. I would have to wait for a while because I didn’t want to wake him at five o’clock at night. We were interrupted by a nurse bringing us some lunch as I couldn’t yet stand up and walk to the trolley.  After the lunch another nurse came and picked Lumi up to feed her and change her into regular baby clothes. She told us that Lumi would have to be fed in three hour intervals. I was first horrified by the information but then I realized that I had Nina to take turns with me so we could both sleep at least six hours at the time. I knew that wasn’t enough for me but it would have to do…

      Yusuke left home after the lunch so that I could have a rest but he promised to come again in the evening during the visiting hours. I thought I’d take a short nap, but when I woke up it was already three in the afternoon. I was deeply disturbed by a strange dream I had during my sleep. I saw a young child playing in strange environment I couldn’t recognize. It was quite dark in the room where she was playing with her dolls but I could hear the sound of a television or a radio.  I realized that I was listening to Japanese. When I started to pick up some words from the speech, somebody called the child by name. She was Kaede. Just as she stood up, the house started to shake violently. She fell and started to cry trying to crawl towards the door. The lights went out and after that all I could hear was her desolate crying in the dark…

      After my creepy dream it took a while to assure myself that everything was alright and I was completely safe in a hospital in Espoo. I decided to call Perttu right away although it was only slightly past eight local time in USA because I was desperate to get rid of the anxiety I felt. I selected Perttu’s number but he didn’t pick up my call. After several try’s I finally managed to wake him up. I was too tired and confused to talk with him very long but I conveyed him the good news. I was relieved when I heard how delighted he was about the birth of his first child. I promised that Yusuke would send him the photos he had taken of Lumi right after her birth and finished the call. I was sure that nobody on the tour bus would sleep after that. It was time to celebrate both here and in USA.


End file.
